Social Media

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News about social media, including commentary and archival articles published in The New York Times.

Chronology of Coverage

Mar. 26, 2015

New York Police Dept is seeking to crowdsource concerns from community through social media, as it seeks to allign its objectives more closely with residents' needs; move reflects department's increasingly savvy command of the medium, which had previously been a source of embarrassment. MORE

Mar. 26, 2015

Instagram, Twitter and other social media platforms are influencing which designers and other high-profile figures receive most attention at fashion weeks. MORE

Mar. 25, 2015

Online vigilantes, with varying agendas, have banded together to combat Islamic State's virulent use of social media, particularly Twitter; working anonymously, hackers expose suspect ISIS accounts on blacklists via Twitter, and ask Twitter users to report accounts to network's violations officials. MORE

Mar. 22, 2015

Journey of Abdi Nur, 20-year-old from Minneapolis who decided to leave United States to join Islamic State group offers insight into small number of Americans who have opted to become part of ISIS; Nur's frequent use of social media has given investigators better picture of his transformation into Islamic radical; law enforcement authorities are scrambling to find ways to identify people attracted to group and intervene before they leave the country. MORE

Mar. 13, 2015

Editorial urges administrators of online social network Yik Yak to institute features designed to curb trolling, in light of abuses being carried out via platform; calls for creators of new social networking platforms to consider potential for abuse during development process and not only after it has become problem. MORE

Mar. 11, 2015

Pepsi hires crowd of celebrities, including Usher, Serena Williams and Usain Bolt, to recruit consumers to participate in series of challenges meant to promote brand to social media generation; campaign is latest incarnation of famous Pepsi Challenge. MORE

Mar. 10, 2015

Joe Sharkey On the Road column notes Transportation Security Administration has withdrawn its request for proposals that would have permitted private firms to use social media for background checks on people applying for Precheck airport security program; says proposals alarmed privacy advocates. MORE

Mar. 9, 2015

Yik Yak, local social media app that allows full anonymity, has become known for abusive, nasty posts as its popularity grows with young people; app has been especially popular on college campuses, where it has fueled controversy over racist, homophobic, misogynistic 'yaks'; app, which sorts comments by geographic location on bulletin boards, has also been used to issue threats of mass violence on more than a dozen campuses. MORE

Mar. 8, 2015

Colson Whitehead First Words column examines how so-called 'loser edit' on reality television shows, highlight reel of failures of a contestant who has been rejected, can be seen as metaphor for how empathetic memory functions in current age; notes that anyone can make a either loser edit or a winner edit from the fragments of their lives that exist on Internet and social media. MORE

Mar. 4, 2015

United States prosecutors extradite Vietnamese man, Minh Quang Pham, from Britain to face trial in Manhattan on charges he created online propaganda for Al Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula; indictment says in 2010, Pham was in Yemen, swore allegiance to Al Qaeda and helped the group produce English-language online magazine called Inspire. MORE

Mar. 4, 2015

Nextdoor, local community-based social network founded by Sarah Leary and Nirav Tolia, is set to announce successful $110 million financing round; network maintains 53,000 microcommunities across country, all based on traditional neighborhood boundaries; investors remain enthusiastic about its prospects for unlocking significant revenue from local businesses and service providers. MORE

Feb. 20, 2015

Memo From Israel; candidates in Israel's elections are turning to cheeky online videos in order to reshape their images, with Prime Min Benjamin Netanyahu releasing several humorous videos; shift is indicative of thriving social media environment in the country. MORE

Feb. 19, 2015

Nick Bilton Disruptions column offers advice to parents trying to decide whether it is appropriate to allow young children to use social media. MORE

Feb. 17, 2015

Center for Strategic Counterterrorism, small State Dept agency, is at center of Obama administration's plans to overhaul way that United States counteracts Islamic State's propaganda machine; administration is sponsoring days of meetings where it will showcase work already being done to combat group's propaganda on social media; overhaul is acknowledgement that too little has been done to slow ISIS's online momentum. MORE

Feb. 15, 2015

Jon Ronson article describes meeting with people who have been shamed online by hordes of social media users, like Justine Sacco, senior director of corporate communications at IAC who was fired after tweeting insensitive joke. MORE

Feb. 15, 2015

Op-Ed article by author Stephen Marche considers impact that 'facelessness' of contemporary culture, enabled by social media and the Internet, has on ethical behavior, given that face is central to ideas of justice and ethics in human history; questions how to remind everyone that people they are interacting with, and often harassing, online are actual human beings. MORE

Feb. 8, 2015

Latest class of Internet celebrity called the Nanofamers tend to sprout from social-media ecosystems like Vine and Snapchat, and their fame lasts no longer than their seconds-long snippets. MORE

Feb. 1, 2015

Swag suites offering leather boots, knitted hats, portable cellphone chargers and more are abound at Sundance Film Festival, but are filled with social media stars, rather than Hollywood celebrities; these Instagrammers, Viners, YouTubers, and bloggers help merchandisers build their brand by posting pictures of the products. MORE

Jan. 29, 2015

Journalists and media insiders are vying for invitation to This.cm, social networking site available only by invite from one of its 4,500 users; site allows users to post one link a day. MORE

Jan. 25, 2015

Natasha Singer Technophoria column examines new crop of start-ups like EverTrue that are using social media analytics to help colleges identify and court prospective alumni donors. MORE

Jan. 20, 2015

Saly Greige, Lebanese beauty queen who has been crowned Miss Lebanon, takes to Facebook to say that picture in which she is seen fraternizing with Doron Matalon, Miss Israel, in Miami was taken without her permission; both women are competing in Miss Universe pageant, and photo caused stir on social media and in Lebanon in particular. MORE

Jan. 20, 2015

Pres Obama's aides revamp their digital communications strategy in effort to reach new audiences for State of the Union speech; form team of Internet-savvy staff to disseminate information through social media. MORE

Jan. 11, 2015

Jihadists and supporters take to social media to praise deadly terrorist attack on French newspaper Charlie Hebdo. MORE

Jan. 10, 2015

Singer-songwriter Jake Mcelfresh, better known as Front Porch Step, is facing allegations that he engaged in inappropriate text messages and social media relations with at least half a dozen teenage girls. MORE

Jan. 8, 2015

Kirby Delauter, Republican councilman in Frederick County, Md, who threatened to sue newspaper for publishing his name, takes back threat after his Facebook post is mocked across social media. MORE

Jan. 5, 2015

David Carr The Media Equation column observes that while self-portraits are not new, latest twist of putting a smartphone on a pole to improve camera angles for selfies is likely to further their popularity; points out the cornucopia of messaging and self-publishing services like WhatsApp, Snapchat and Instagram present major challenge for media companies. MORE

Jan. 1, 2015

Farhad Manjoo State of the Art column examines ThinkUp, subscription service created by Anil Dash and Gina Trapani that analyzes how people use Twitter and Facebook; observes service is intended to point up trends with an eye on helping users become more thoughtful, less reflexive, more empathetic and more professional. MORE

Dec. 29, 2014

Japanese technology firm Mixi was formerly dominant social network in its home market, but is now strongly profiting from its hit smartphone game Monster Strike; game has been downloaded more than 20 million times, mostly in Japan, and is making Mixi about $2 million a day in revenue. MORE

Dec. 29, 2014

Digital scrapbook Pinterest will start selling advertisements on its site to marketers on Jan 1, 2015, competing with Google, Twitter and Facebook; advertisers say company, which has grown to about 70 million users globally, is only place their brands feel welcome, since ads are targeted to groups of people who have shown interest in certain topics. MORE

Dec. 28, 2014

Ginia Bellafante Big City column on term 'wealfy,' coined by advertising executive Richard Kirshenbaum to describe self portraits taken in contexts that confirm subject's wealth or status and then posted on social media. MORE

Dec. 27, 2014

British suicide-prevention group The Samaritans face backlash with web application that alerts users to Twitter postings that contain phrases that signal mental distress, and later disable app; critics say analyzing social media activity for signs of mental health conditions amounts to quackery; researchers and psychologists who are studying issue say they will proceed as cautiously and transparently as possible with developing such diagnostic tools. MORE

Dec. 26, 2014

Editorial argues that Facebook's decision to block event page for opposition demonstration at behest of Russian Pres Vladimir V Putin's government is reminder that social media companies will not protect free speech if it conflicts with their lucrative business opportunities. MORE

Dec. 25, 2014

Small businesses are increasingly benefiting from the use of 'content marketing' tools like blog posts, images and other Internet and social media content to establish themselves as respected experts and improve their search engine rankings. MORE

Dec. 25, 2014

Melissa Rosenthal Brenner, NBA's senior vice president for digital media, is anticipating long, challenging day on Christmas, when five games will be played. MORE

Dec. 21, 2014

App City column on Memoir, free time-capsule app that creates collage of user's most cherished moments using photos and social media posts. MORE

Dec. 18, 2014

You're the Boss blog; Andrew Royce Bauer of family-owned Royce Leather discusses his reasons for deciding against using social media for his luxury goods buyers. MORE

Dec. 18, 2014

Online retailers, recognizing value of having their 'unboxings' posted on social media like Instagram, invest money, time and creativity in their holiday gift wrapping. MORE

Dec. 13, 2014

Britain's Channel 4 News reports that Twitter user behind one of the most prolific English-language sites supporting Islamic State is not an armed fighter but an Indian marketing executive who lives and works in the city of Bangalore; rise and fall of his Twitter account illuminates role of volunteer sympathizers in global spread of Islamic State’s message. MORE

Dec. 12, 2014

New York State appeals court in Manhattan is set hear case that tackles issue of Internet privacy; case, being closely watched by civil libertarians and social media companies, involves search warrants that allowed Manhattan prosecutors to seize Facebook accounts of 300 people who had not been charged with a crime; court will also determine whether Facebook has right to challenge warrants. MORE

Dec. 8, 2014

United Talent Agency and Rentrak are introducing marketing analysis service called PreAct, which uses algorithms to dissect data from social media data and help movie studios improve ticket sales for a film's opening; studios that control about 40 percent of North American box office have signed up for the service since its January debut. MORE

Dec. 4, 2014

Advertising column; Bermuda's tourism office has invited popular users of social media to the island in order to encourage travelers to visit. MORE

Dec. 3, 2014

Profile of Pavel Durov, founder of Vkontakte, Russia's most popular social network, who fled country in April following clash with government of Pres Vladimir Putin; Durov departed after refusing to release data of Ukrainian protest leaders and has since led life of exile, moving from country to country every few weeks with small band of programmers. MORE

Dec. 2, 2014

Designers spend hours online scouring Tumblr, Instagram and other social media sites for inspiration. MORE

Dec. 2, 2014

Republican congressional aide Elizabeth Lauten resigns after snide Facebook post scolding Pres Obama's daughters Malia and Sasha for their attitude and attire at annual White House turkey pardon; her remarks became sensation on Internet. MORE

Nov. 30, 2014

First column by Emily Bazelon reflects on government's case against Anthony Elonis, who was charged under federal law that makes it crime to use form of interstate communications, like the Internet, to threaten to injure another person; notes Supreme Court will hear case in December, first time justices have considered limits on speech on social media. MORE

Nov. 24, 2014

Small 27-person marketing department at Lionsgate has become model for Hollywood's legacy studios with its cutting-edge social-media campaigns for The Hunger Games: Mockingjay, Part 1; company spent roughly $50 million to market film, compared with $100 million that Hollywood's six major studios routinely spend on major releases. MORE

Nov. 23, 2014

Model Kendall Jenner, younger sister of Kim Kardashian, may soon become more famous than her celebrity family members, as she snags coveted contract to be new face of Estee Lauder; while hundreds of other young women possess Jenner's beauty, none can garner her millions of followers on social media. MORE

Nov. 22, 2014

Timothy Egan Op-Ed column expresses abhorrence at growing obsession with capturing images of oneself while traveling, as well as spread of selfie stick, device used to take pictures of oneself; says both trends serve to change travel experience for worse, from immersion and discovery to documentary one-upmanship and self-absorption. MORE

Nov. 20, 2014

Kaplan Test Prep report finds fewer college officials are finding online material that could be considered provocative and derail student's chance of admission, even though more admissions officers consider public social media accounts of applicants as fair game. MORE

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